Featured Articles Archive - Page 518

MGM Mirage wraps up $2.6 billion restructuring

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- MGM Mirage completed its $2.6 billion corporate restructuring effort Tuesday, the same day the company announced it would be involved in a $4 billion project to build and operate smaller, nongaming versions of the Bellagio and MGM Grand in Dubai. The casino operator's restructuring plan is part of its efforts to help dig the company out from under its debt and leveraging issues. The Strip casino giant sold 164.7 million shares of the company's stock at $7 a share on the New York Stock Exchange to raise $1.1 billion...read more

AGA still believes in Stanley Ho

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- His daughter may not be a suitable business partner in the eyes of New Jersey gaming regulators, but the American Gaming Association believes Stanley Ho should be honored at the Global Gaming Expo Asia next month. Ho, the 86-year-old Hong Kong billionaire, will receive the Asia Visionary Award at the opening ceremony of the G2E Asia, scheduled for June 2-4 and the Venetian Macau. The convention and trade show is the Macau version of the G2E that takes place in Las Vegas in November. "As the global gaming industry continues to face one of the most challenging economic environments in recent history, the insights of top leaders and analysts will play an important role in helping industry professionals weather the storm," Frank Fahrenkopf Jr., American Gaming Association president, said in a statement. Ho held the monopoly on Macau's casino concessions for more than two decades until Mainland China allowed new operators to enter the market...read more

Playing It Smart: Multi-line slots don't have to be complex

Picture a hypothetical old-time three-reel spring-and-ratchet slot machine. The kind with a handle and no computer. Say that each reel has 10 positions and can stop with equal probability at any of them. More, pretend that nine of the positions are marked "x" and one "o." And, posit that returns are 100-for-1 on three x's, 10-for-1 on two x's, and 2-for-1 on one x...read more

MGM partner found unsuitable by NJ

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- New Jersey gaming authorities have reportedly found MGM Mirage joint venture partner Pansy Ho, who has a 50 percent stake in the MGM Grand Macau, unsuitable and the casino operator needs to "disengage itself from any business association" with the daughter of controversial Hong Kong billionaire Stanley Ho. In a filing this morning with the Securities and Exchange Commission, MGM Mirage said the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement issued a report to the New Jersey Casino Control Commission on Monday...read more

Top-10 tips for planning your trip to the WSOP

Believe it or not, the 2009 World Series of Poker begins in 10 days. Last year after returning from a month in Las Vegas, the Casino City team presented our Top-10 reasons to attend the WSOP. We're assuming that after you read the list you were swayed into actually doing it and heading to Las Vegas for this year's WSOP...read more

Analyst says gaming stocks still risky

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- One Wall Street analyst is still not convinced that MGM Mirage is out the woods, despite the company's recent financial maneuverings that saved the $8.5 billion CityCenter development and restructured its corporate financial picture. Steven Kent of Goldman Sachs told investors a number of risks continue to persist surrounding the stocks of Las Vegas-based casino operators, including MGM Mirage, Las Vegas Sands Corp...read more

MGM Mirage completes stock sale

LAS VEGAS, Nevada –- MGM Mirage placed 143 million shares of common stock on the market Thursday, almost double what the company had previously announced it was selling as part of an effort to raise $2.5 billion to resolve its debt and leveraging issues. The financially struggling casino operator committed to its lenders that it would raise $1 billion from the stock sale and $1.5 billion from the private offering of senior notes secured by Bellagio and The Mirage. MGM Mirage said it will use part of the offering's proceeds to repay at least $750 million under its senior credit facility and buy back some of its $14.4 billion in debt. Deutsche Bank gaming analyst Andrew Zarnett said Thursday the company was taking the proper steps to address its leverage and liquidity issues. "MGM Mirage now has ample financial flexibility, and more importantly, time to tackle its high leverage even though it is caught in the midst of a challenging fundamental environment," Zarnett told investors. Shares of MGM Mirage fell almost 30 percent in value on Wednesday after the company announced its restructuring plan...read more

PartyPoker Bets $105 Million on Return to U.S.

When the founders of PartyPoker decided to take the company public on the London Stock Exchange, they changed its name to PartyGaming, so they could offer gaming beyond their wildly successful online card room, PartyPoker.com. The June 2005 initial public offering was, to say the least, successful: Investors put a value on the company of $8.46 billion, greater than British Airways. A little over a year later, the conservative Republican leader of the U.S...read more

Top-10 players you want to watch at the WSOP

As we pointed out in our recent Top-10 tidbits from the 2009 World Series of Poker Media Guide article, ESPN used 40 cameras to cover last year's WSOP. That's more than what NBC used to cover Super Bowl XLIII. But as much as we enjoy the ESPN coverage of the WSOP, even 40 cameras can't capture all of the action...read more

New WSOP rule could hamper Hellmuth

LAS VEGAS, Nevada -- The World Series of Poker's first high-stakes event starts on May 28. Which means we're just 18 days away from Phil Hellmuth's first temper tantrum of the tournament. A new discipline system, however, could render his next outburst his last. World Series of Poker officials want to do a better job tabulating infractions by players and improve enforcement...read more